Internet freedom has deteriorated in the Philippines in recent years, as indicated by Freedom House’s Freedom of the Net 2020 report. It rates the Philippines as “partly free,” noting the forced shutdown of news organization ABS-CBN and a rising number of arrests in connection with social media postings on the COVID-19 outbreak. Fortunately, a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, for the Philippines ensures your online security and anonymity when you are in the country or traveling outside.
Thus, how might a VPN assist? It encrypts your internet traffic using 256-bit AES encryption and passes it over a 256-bit AES-encrypted tunnel. That ensures that hackers or snoopers cannot access your data. Additionally, you may alter your IP address and fake your location by connecting it to a server in another country. This enables you to access geo-restricted and even government-censored information sources such as Rappler, an online news source.
Our suggestion for the top VPN provider for the Philippines takes the following things into account:
- For streaming and torrenting, we provide fast servers and limitless bandwidth.
- A vast network of servers located across the globe is being used to unblock content.
- Encryption settings that are strong enough to guarantee privacy and anonymity.
- Support through live chat and email, ideally accessible 24 hours a day.
- At least a 30-day money-back guarantee allows you to experiment risk-free.
Best VPN for the Philippines
NordVPN
NordVPN is our top recommendation for a VPN in the Philippines. It surpasses most VPNs in our speed testing and has a massive server network. The firm maintains over 5,000 servers in several locations, giving it a reliable alternative for a wide variety of web-related activities. NordVPN is compatible with a wide variety of online streaming providers, including Netflix, Hulu, and the BBC iPlayer. It is torrent compatible.
This VPN company is one of the few that allows you to choose a server based on your individual needs—this may include Double VPN or even P2P. As a zealous adherent to the zero-logs policy, it stores no information on user sessions, traffic, or timestamps. By default, the organization encrypts internet data using the 256-bit AES protocol and 2,048-bit SSL keys. Protection against DNS leaks is enabled.
Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android are all supported. Additionally, you may connect to multiple devices simultaneously.
How we discovered the best VPN for the Philippines
While digital privacy is an issue for everyone, internet users in the Philippines face additional risks. With severe censorship rules and prosecutions for internet activity becoming more prevalent, there is no room in our suggestions for anything less than the finest. To determine the best VPN for the Philippines, we evaluated each provider’s performance in the following areas:
- Privacy: Privacy is paramount, given that residents suffer exceptionally severe penalties (and even physical harm) for sharing anything that the government does not approve of online. The VPN mentioned above stores records that may be used to identify you, and several allow for anonymous Bitcoin payments. For enhanced security, some providers even provide RAM-only servers.
- Security: Even if your communication is intercepted, it is worthless to any observer with sufficient security. At the very least, our suggested VPN provides 256-bit encryption, DNS and IPv6 leak prevention, and a kill switch. We do, however, give preference to those that contain a broader variety of security measures.
- Scale and speed of the network: Generally, the bigger the network of a VPN, the more constant your connection will be (since servers are less likely to be overloaded). This, however, means nothing if your internet connection is too sluggish to view the web. That is why we only suggest a VPN that performs well in our speed tests.
- Unblocking potential: Not all services are capable of circumventing country-wide limitations. We seek those that use stealth modes or other types of traffic obfuscation, since they are more adept at evading detection.
- User-friendliness: Services must make it as simple as possible to safeguard your personal information online. We check for well-designed applications, live chat support 24 hours a day, and pre-configured security mechanisms, as well as if the connection limit is sufficient for most users.
- Pricing: We evaluate each service’s price against that of other services with similar capabilities to see if they are priced reasonably. Otherwise, it does not make the cut. Additionally, we keep an eye out for any accessible trials, money-back guarantees, or long-term discounts, so we can inform you of any methods you may be able to save money.
How about a no-cost VPN service for the Philippines?
There are undoubtedly some free VPNs floating around the internet, but don’t expect them to provide the same level of security and encryption as commercial solutions.
Typically, free VPNs profit by inundating you with intrusive advertisements, installing and tracking cookies, and selling your data. Additionally, services have been known to capture your bandwidth and transform you into a foot soldier in a huge botnet army.
The VPN mentioned in the post does provide a free trial period. That’s a convenient choice if you’re unsure whether to use a VPN entirely. However, we advise you to stay away from the random ones that exist on the internet. They are almost certainly too wonderful to be true.
How can I get pornographic content in the Philippines?
Filipinos are ardent consumers of pornographic content, spending more time on adult websites each session than citizens of any other nation. Access to such content is, however, prohibited under local law, with the authorities recently shutting down a slew of such websites. In February, the Philippine National Telecommunications Commission urged local ISPs to prohibit users from downloading and streaming porn.
The simplest way to get around this is to sign up for the VPN mentioned in this article, connect to a server in Europe or North America, and go to the websites you want to see. Your identity will be concealed.
The Philippines’ internet freedom
According to the current assessment by Freedom House, a worldwide advocacy organization, the country’s internet freedom has deteriorated from last year’s rankings and has slid to a “Not Free” classification.
It expressed worry over the forced shutdown of news website Rappler, as well as a rising number of arrests of journalists and bloggers. Additionally, the administration reportedly bought advanced surveillance technology, indicating a more repressive atmosphere.
In 2014, the Supreme Court struck down many provisions of the Cybercrime Prevention Act that would have given the Department of Justice broad jurisdiction to remove content without a court order. While online libel and slander are forbidden, Filipinos may publish, blog, and engage in online forums without fear of substantial backlash.
There are, nevertheless, certain areas of worry. President Duterte’s campaign against criminals and his support for extrajudicial executions seem to have generated dread across the nation. Freedom House argues that internet activism seems to have declined in the years after Trump’s victory—albeit it provides no clear statistics to support this allegation.
Journalistic violence is also a problem. At least 77 local journalists have been assassinated in connection with their jobs since 1992. The dismal rate of conviction has garnered condemnation from human rights organizations, with some contemporary journalists also getting threatening threats through internet channels. President Duterte has also done nothing to assuage fears, claiming that journalists hired to attack or defend politicians deserve to be murdered.
VPN for Philippines FAQs
Are virtual private networks (VPNs) allowed in the Philippines?
Despite the country’s tight internet controls, VPNs have not been criminalized. Given the genuine threat that some internet users face, it is essential to take precautions while blogging, reporting, or texting from the Philippines. This may involve the use of a VPN, the payment of services in Bitcoin, or communication through end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms such as Signal or Telegram.
How can I find the best VPN server in the Philippines for gaming?
There are many methods for optimizing your VPN’s gaming performance. To begin with, you should choose a server that is close to your physical location, as this will decrease latency; if your game indicates that your ping is too high, you may just be using a server that is too far away.
Following that, determine if your VPN provider provides dedicated gaming servers. If not, choose one with a low load. After all, fewer connected users implies that you have access to more of the server’s resources. If you continue to have issues after this, you may wish to contact your VPN support staff to ensure that the issue is not on your end.
Is social media in the Philippines restricted?
At the moment, social networking websites are not prohibited in the Philippines. This may change in the future; in 2020, President Duterte vowed to ban access to Facebook after the platform’s suspension of accounts belonging to bots spreading pro-government propaganda.
Can I use my Netflix account from the United States in the Philippines?
If you’ve subscribed to Netflix, you may continue to use it while traveling in countries where the service is accessible (most of the world). However, you will almost certainly notice a significant shift in the content. While Netflix Originals are available in every area, third-party films and television series vary by country. You may note that Netflix Japan has a larger selection of anime, but Netflix Spain has much more Spanish-language programming.
Is it possible to access streaming services in the Philippines?
Yes. The Philippines features a number of indigenous streaming services. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, HBO Go, Crunchyroll, Viu, iWantTFC, iFlix, and HOOQ are all included in this category.
Netflix remains the most popular service, and anybody in the Philippines may recover access to the US Netflix repertoire while on vacation by using a VPN.
While traveling outside the Philippines, a VPN may also allow you to regain access to any of the Philippine TV networks listed above. To do this, connect to a VPN server located in the Philippines and get a Philippine IP address.
It’s simple to use a VPN to get access to Philippine streaming sites. Therefore, if you are already a subscriber to the VPN service mentioned above, you may regain access from overseas by using our suggested VPN.
Are all VPNs equipped with servers in the Philippines?
No. VPNs in the Philippines with fast, trustworthy servers are rather few. This is why it is critical to use the VPN service mentioned in this article.
We thoroughly scoured the market for industry-leading VPNs with safe applications and a robust server network in the Philippines. As a result, you may utilize our instructions to reclaim access to Filipino services from abroad or to use the internet in the Philippines with more privacy.
The advantage of purchasing a VPN with servers in the Philippines (if you already reside there) is that you may connect to a local VPN server to prevent ISPs or local networks from spying on you at all times, even while using local services that need a Philippine IP address.